Ryan Stutzman 2L, Duluth, MN
“Hamline's Weekend program was the only realistic option I had to get a legal education.”
A part-time program for people with full-time lives
At Hamline, achieving your dream of becoming a lawyer is possible, even if you are:
- Well beyond your undergraduate degree
- Currently managing multiple family and professional responsibilities
- Living in an area beyond the Twin Cities without a nearby law school
Hamline University School of Law in St. Paul, Minnesota has enabled hundreds of people in these very circumstances to earn juris doctorate degrees and launch satisfying legal careers.
We welcome qualified, non-traditional students who may wish to enhance their current career or move their careers in a new direction. This could be why Hamline is ranked among the top ten law schools in the nation to provide a welcoming atmosphere for older students (Princeton Review 2007).
Students in Hamline's part-time program appreciate a flexible weekend format while learning from many of the best law faculty members in the country. Most importantly, students in the weekend program earn a juris doctorate degree in four years while continuing to work full-time and maintaining multiple personal and professional obligations.
Learn more at an upcoming Information Session!
A Part-time Program with Full-time Benefits
The weekend provides the same benefits available in Hamline's full-time, weekday law school program, such as:
- Same full-time tenured faculty
- Nationally ranked Dispute Resolution Institute and growing Health Law Institute
- Hands-on learning in clinics and practicums
- Moot court competitions
- International study abroad opportunities
- Diverse, vibrant student community
- Research and other experiential learning experiences
- Supportive environment that far exceeds a typical law school
Weekend students also benefit from the broad experience of their classmates.
"Many of us have ongoing professional lives, spouses and children. The cumulative life experience of the Hamline weekend class fosters an academic environment I don't believe I would have found elsewhere."
--Ryan Stutzman, Duluth resident and 2L student in the part-time weekend program at Hamline.
Learn more at an upcoming Information Session!
Ross Lawrence ’2L, Minneapolis. Listen to Ross. speak about his experiences at Hamline (mp3).
"Learning on the weekend allowed me to work full-time, which meant I didn't need to borrow a lot of money for law school."
Weekend Structure
Classes are offered on Saturday and Sunday during the day at Hamline School of Law. Students in the part-time program are able to fulfill all graduation requirements, including electives, within four to five years. The program must be completed within seven years. Students are required to register for eight to eleven credits each semester. In their first and second semesters, students must take eleven credit hours.
Preview the first year student weekend schedule for 2007-08.
Contracts, Civil Procedure, Torts, Criminal Law, Property I, Constitutional Law I, Legal Research and Writing, and seminars required to graduate, are taught by full-time professors in the School of Law. The upper-class electives are taught mainly by full-time professors; adjunct professors teach those courses in which the expertise of experienced practitioners or judges is desired.
Student services are available on the weekend, as well as during normal business hours. Classes will not meet the following weekends: Labor Day, MEA (usually 3rd weekend in October), Thanksgiving, winter break, mid-February, spring break and Easter.
Students enrolled in the weekend section participate in clinics, moot court competitions, and international study programs. Many also work full-time jobs.
Here's What Our Students Have to Say about the Weekend Program
Chad Staul, JD '07, states: "I chose Hamline because of the weekend program." Follow this link (mp3) to listen to Chad speak about his experiences as a weekend student at Hamline University School of Law.
As Director of Nursing in the area of maternal child health at Regions Hospital in St. Paul, Kristi LeMieux believes a juris doctor degree will help leverage her health care experience. She attended the weekend program at Hamline University School of Law for the past four years while working full-time and raising a family. To hear more about why Kristi chose Hamline and her experiences as a student, click here (mp3).